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Skip the Lines: 13 Black Friday Sales You Can Snag on the Web

Some deals are happening all weekend, while others are only taking place at specific times. Companies have merged traditional in-stores deals with web specials. Some even extend bargain periods all the way into Cyber Monday, the traditional big day for online shopping.

Technology has made it easy for companies to advertise deals through social media and specific holiday landing pages on their websites, while others are sticking to weekly ads to promote sales.

Whether you choose to be among the crowds for Black Friday, or to snag online deals in bed while you recover from a Thanksgiving food coma, there's no argument that the big shopping event requires a little preparation before you dive in. We've gathered some of the noteworthy deals to check out on Friday (or earlier).

Know of more deals being advertised online? Share them in the comments section. Happy shopping!

1. Living Social

Instead of local deals on restaurants and spas, check Living Social on Friday for 50% deals from businesses such as Verizon Wireless, Office Max, Sketchers, Bluefly and more. Offers will start 5 a.m. on Friday, and then new offers will appear on Monday, because as the company says in its advertising, "It's too much savings for just one day."

2. Apple

Friday is the special one-day shopping event for Apple. You can visit any Apple retail store (although we'd advise getting there early) or shop online all day. You’ll discover great iPad, iPod, and Mac gifts at a reduced price for yourself or anyone on your list.

3. Amazon

Amazon has released Black Friday specials all week, searching for the best deals everywhere so that it can match or beat competitor prices and bring them to you early.

Notable items include a PlayStation 3 160GB Bundle with two free games for $199 and a Panasonic DMC-ZS9 14.1MP Digital Camera for $179.99. Also, all phones from Verizon, Sprint, and AT&T with a new contract are on sale for a penny from November 21, 2011, through 11:59 p.m. PDT November 28, 2011, while supplies last. If you buy an eligible smartphone and activate the hotspot feature, you'll get a $100 Amazon.com Gift Card.

4. Target

Target's Christmas Champ has been revving customers on the Internet and TV for the company's 2-Day Sale. You can view advertised deals online, which include doorbusters like an Element 40" LCD HDTV for $265, Sony Blu-ray players for $80 and an 8 GB iPod for $125, plus receive a $15 gift card. Target.com will offer many of the same limited-availability doorbuster deals that will be found in-store, in addition to the online only deals. Target is having a 4-day pre-Black Friday sale now, but the big sales begin in stores and online at midnight on Friday.

5. GameStop

For Black Friday, GameStop will buy your old iPod, iPhone or iPad (ranging from $70 to $375 back). And $200 will get you the Zelda-branded version of the portable DS system, along with the remake of the Nintendo 64 classic. Select stores will offer the Acer Iconia 7" tablet for $249. Sales start online at midnight, along with about 2,200 stores, and the rest are opening at 5:00 a.m.

6. Best Buy

Best Buy's deals for Black Friday are so noteworthy, they encourage camping out at least 24 to 48 hours in advance.

This year they will even be entertaining the crowd with a movie screening of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part Two. Notable items include a Sharp 42" 1080p LCD TV for $199.99, a Samsung 15.6" laptop with 4 GB for $299.99 and a free Samsung Stratosphere 4G LTE with 2-year activation with Verizon. Doors open at midnight on Friday, but tickets for items will be distributed starting at 10 p.m. on Thursday. Sales online begin Thanksgiving Day.

7. Walmart

The superstore has advertised Black Friday since Halloween, and is taking its sales so seriously, there will be three separate times for specific areas of the store — 10 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day for toys, home and apparel; midnight on Friday for electronics; and 8 a.m. on Friday for all other specials.

Some things Walmart.com is offering in stores include a limited edition blue Wii Console for $99.96, a Vizio 42-inch Passive 3DTV Set for $598 and a Kodak C1450 for $49. Online shoppers can expect 46" HDTVs for less than $400, kids' electric ride-ons for less than $40 and select bundles of four Blu-ray movies for $20.

8. B&H Photo

The NYC superstore will be open on Thanksgiving day from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and sales will continue through Black Friday on the B&H Photo website. Expect $100 to $50 off of select cameras and discounts on printers, photo accessories, home entertainment and more.

9. Dell

On Dell’s Black Friday site, you will find great deals on laptops, desktop computers, printers, TVs, digital cameras and other cool electronics.

Some items to look out for online include the Inspiron 15 laptop for $299.99, an Inspiron One 2205 desktop for $399.99 and a 12-megapixel Canon PowerShot ELPH 100 digital camera, which comes with Adobe Photoshop Elements 9 & Premiere Elements 9 and a Shutterfly photobook for $209.99. Sales will go live Friday at midnight.

10. Sears

Although Sears has placed daily deals on specific items throughout the week, its Thanksgiving Sale is currently being advertised on its homepage. Items will be on sale online and in stores, such as a single-cup brewing system for $120, Butterball electric turkey fryer for $100 and a 6-quart bowl lift stand mixer for $275. All Kenmore appliances will be 20% off. Doors open at 4 a.m. on Friday, and doorbuster sales will continue through 1 p.m.

11. Office Max

Don't think the store is just giving deals away on pens and paper. Office Max has some pretty solid deals, such as an HP laptop for $389.99, HP Color Inkjet wireless printer for $79.99 and the Canon EOS Rebel T3 DSLR for $479.99. Online sales begin Thanksgiving Day at 7 a.m., and doors open 6 a.m. on Friday.

12. HH Gregg

Electronics store HH Gregg has already released Black Friday sales on its website, but expect some doorbusters from the company as well. Some things the company is offering include a Toshiba Internet Blu-ray player for $39.99, a 51" Samsung Plasma HDTV for $499.99 and a Vivitar digital video camcorder for $14.99. Doors open at midnight on Friday.

13. Verizon

Verizon has yet to reveal exactly what to expect from its Black Friday sales, but check its website on Friday for deals on cell phones, smartphones, tablets, and other accessories. Considering AT&T is offering phones for a penny as part of its Black Friday promotion, we expect some deep discounts from Verizon this year.

BONUS: Top 10 Black Friday Deals on Social Media

Top 10 Black Friday Deals on Social Media

The company is offering one Gold Box deal along with multiple Lightning Deals appearing and expiring throughout each day this week. Things such as an LG 32" HDTV for $308.99 or Halo Reach on Xbox 360 for $29.96 are among the many deals on the site.

Although the promotion has already ended, they also used an app to run a contest on the page for a chance to win a limo ride to a local Toys "R" Us and shop Black Friday deals one hour before anyone else with a $1,000 shopping spree.

Macy's is using Facebook like-gating to give customers an early jump start on its Black Friday deals, which are now posted from an app on the page.

BONUS: They also have a pretty funny Black Friday commercial starring Justin Bieber. Macy's will donate $2 to the Make-A-Wish foundation for every one of his Someday gift sets sold on Black Friday, up to $100,000.

This year, since most stores are opening at midnight, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part Two (which has been advertised on Blu-ray as part of the doorbusters), will be shown while dedicated shoppers wait in line.

You can also check in to any US Best Buy on Facebook between November 18 and 27, and it will donate $2 to Boys & Girls Clubs of America.

AT&T is also using Twitter to promote its deal, which will run from Black Friday through Cyber Monday. Some of the things customers can expect are select Windows 7, BlackBerry and Android devices starting at one penny.

Walgreens is promoting its newest mobile app on Twitter, which, starting on Black Friday, will give exclusive holiday discounts to smartphone customers via scannable coupons. The app is free and available for iPhone and Android operating systems.

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